The Light One
by recareta
Summary: A Dark One with an agenda, an Evil Queen seeking redemption, a Savior rediscovering herself and a mysterious man. Puppets and puppeteers. But who is pulling the strings? Second season AU. Regina/Emma Regina/OC
1. Prologue

**I've**** been meaning to upload this story for about two weeks, but I didn't because I was nervous. This is not just the first fic I've ever written, but the first thing ever, not including school project essays. I've proofread it twice before uploading, but English is not my native language, so there will be mistakes.**

**I appreciate constructive criticism, so I'd like to know when I'm doing something wrong, but also please include any tips for how to do better.**

**I'll try to post new chapters every week. I have written the first five, so expect constant updates the next five weeks at least.**

**I hope that you'll enjoy the ride.**

**Prologue**

On her walk to the dinner Regina was going over the events that led to the Sheriff's earlier call. Miss Swan called her and invited her to the Welcome Back Party the town was throwing for their return from the Enchanted Forest. Regina was surprised about being invited to the party, but she taught that was their way of saying thank you for helping with their return. But nobody knew the extent of her help, or what the consequences may be. Come to think of it, she didn't really know what would happen, but she figured absorbing a Death Spell must have a cost. Quite a big one at that. '_Why did I do that? _..._For Henry… Not for Miss Swan, and certainly __**not**__ for Snow White!_ '

Henry had asked her to help bring them back, and Regina taught that helping with their rescue was an appropriate thing to do. After all Miss Swan had fallen through the portal because she had been helping her with the wraith.' _Damn that imp._' But most of all she had helped because she taught that rescuing the beloved Savior will help get her son's love back.

Her trail of thought was interrupted when Regina found herself in front of Granny's Dinner. '_Wow time really flies when you're thinking.'_ She gathered her thoughts and took a step forward, but suddenly she felt dizzy and stopped. '_A glass of Jack isn't nearly enough to make me this dizzy.'_ She took a deep breath and walked to the front door of the dinner, took another breath and entered.

* * *

As the bell on top of the dinner's door rang Emma turned around to see Regina walking in with a shy smile on her face and the site brought a smile on her own face as well. '_She is beautiful when she smiles. …Wait WHAT? Where did that come from Swan?' _Emma snapped to reality when Leroy or Grumpy or whoever the hell he was, grabbed a knife and asked what Regina was doing there. She suddenly had an urge to punch him, but instead she settled for turning to him and saying that she invited her. That shut him up, but then her par… David and Mary pulled her aside.

"Why would you invite her?" -MM asked somewhat irritated.

"As a thank you for her help about getting us back here…"

"All she did was put Charming under a sleeping curse, so that I could tell him that we were fine and were coming!" – said MM now seeming even more irritated.

"She did it because he asked her to." – Emma shoot back now irritated herself.

"I wanted to see if you were fine." – David tried to defend himself with a sweet tone, which annoyed Emma even more.

"Mary Margaret told Henry that we were ok the first time she saw him and because you put yourself under a sleeping curse so that she could tell you the same thing, he had to go back to that place a second time, so don't blame that on Regina." – she fired back.

"She is trying to change…"- she continued – "and Henry believes in her, so I believe in her. She deserves a chance don't you think?"

"We've given her far too many chances Emma." – David said determined and Mary Margaret nodded in support.

"This time is different, this time she has Henry." – Emma replied before turning her back to them to go get a drink.

* * *

As Regina sat in the booth alone, she thought about how glad she was that everyone was ignoring her. She wasn't feeling well. She figured that something was wrong when she didn't say anything back to Leroy as he greeted her with a knife, but went to set down her lasagna with the rest of the food. '_Are this the effects of the Death Spell? Damn that imp!' _Her mind went trailing back to the moment she found out about the Death Spell.

After Charming-the idiot was put under the sleeping curse they had to put Henry back to sleep so that he could tell them what Charming had found out from Snow. When Henry woke up he happily told them that Snow and Miss Swan had found a bean and that they were headed to Lake Nostos to restore it. Then they were going to open a portal and come back. As Henry had sat next to Charming, Gold pulled her aside to tell her that he put a Death Spell over the well after the curse broke. He said that he had put the spell, so that no one could enter Storybrooke and said that anyone who would try would die immediately. That meant that if Snow and the Sheriff tried to come back through the portal they would end up dead. After seeing her son's face and how happy he was when he talked about his birth mother coming back she knew that she couldn't let that happen.

Another wave of dizziness hit her and after stabilizing she thought that it was time for her to head home.

* * *

Emma saw Regina walking out of the dinner and she went after her because she felt bad that everyone was ignoring her, including she herself and Henry. After walking out of the door she realized that she had no idea what to say to the woman, so she went with – "Archie made a cake. You don't want to stay for a piece?" _'Really Swan? Cake? Regina and cake? Smooth!'_

"I'm fine thank you, and thank you for inviting me." – Regina replied looking tired.

"Oh no problem, Henry wanted you to come." – she said trying to make the woman see that her son still loved and cared about her.

"I would like to see him more. Maybe you can let him stay over some time? I have his room just waiting for him." – Regina said in a sweet tone.

"I don't think that is a good idea…" – Emma rejected her because she didn't think Henry was ready, not because of Regina. She could really see that the woman was changing and was about to say that when Regina interrupted her in a fit of anger.

"Because you know so much about parenting in the five minutes you've been with him. Talk to David, at least he took care of him while you were gone, like I did during the first ten years of his life!" – Regina said and turned away to leave.

Emma taught that she saw her sway as she tried to walk away. Regina didn't seem that drunk so that she couldn't walk back home and Emma wasn't going to offer her help after what she said. She turned and sat on the stairs to clear her head and enjoy a little peace and quiet before she went back to the party.

* * *

If Regina suddenly hadn't felt very ill, she would have stayed with Swan a little more to list all the reasons that her son should come back home with her, but she wasn't feeling well and she couldn't let the Sheriff see her weakened.

The more she walked, the more ill and week she felt. She was started feeling so sick that she had to stop and rest against a street lamp. The rest didn't help her at all. Regina taught that whatever happened to her, should happen in her home, not out on the open where anyone could see her, so she continued walking. She didn't even have enough strength to poof herself to her house.

* * *

As Emma sat on the stairs in front of the dinner she heard a voice she knew well. Gold. '_What does he want now? I can't deal with one more fairytale villain. One villain per night please_.' Gold made a tsking noise with his tongue before speaking.

"Is that any way to treat the Queen after everything she did to make sure you got here, Miss Swan?"

"She did nothing. She just put David under a sleeping curse. And that isn't much." – she repeated Mary Margaret's words from earlier. '_Great Swan, now you're becoming a two faced bitch. What is this town doing to me?_'

"Well if you think that absorbing a Death Spell is nothing than I guess you're right, dearie." – he said with that all knowing smile of his.

Emma didn't like the sound of that at all. - "What are you talking about? What Death Spell? What is a Death Spell?" – she asked standing up from her sitting position.

"After you broke the curse I put a Death Spell on the well to keep any unwanted guests away from our little town. By keep away I mean kill anyone who would try to enter Storybrooke. You succeeded only because she absorbed it, dearie." – he said smiling and Emma wanted to wipe that smile of his face with her fist, but she wanted answers more, so for the second time that night she restrained herself.

"Regina did what? What will it do to her?" – Emma asked already panicking.

"Kill her dearie, what else do you think? It's a Death Spell after all."

"WHAT? Can I do something? Can I save her? I am the Savior, right?" – Emma said while her face turned white like she'd seen a ghost.

"Oh it's already too late, dearie."

That was the last thing she heard him say before she pushed him out of her way and ran as fast as she could toward Regina's house.

"It can't be too late, it can't be too late…" - she repeated as she ran towards the mansion.

* * *

Regina knew she was in her front yard. She could see her porch light through the swirling mass of colors her view had become. She knew that she was dying, and she was determined to die in her house. She wasn't going to die lying on the street like some homeless person, she was a Queen for Christ sake. As Regina looked up again she thought that she saw a men's silhouette coming her way. She even thought that she heard her name being called. '_Great, now I'm hallucinating too.'_

She was too weak. She knew that she wouldn't make it to the front door. Her vision was totally gone now, except for a little light that was coming from in front of her and that was quickly fading too. She felt her legs weaken more with each step she took. Then as her vision suddenly went black, she felt herself falling into someone's arms.

* * *

"It can't be too late, it can't be too late…"

Emma was just around the corner from the former mayor's house. Her legs were hurting, her lungs were burning, she was covered in sweat but she kept running like a crazy person. It couldn't be too late. When Regina's house came in her view she suddenly stopped. She saw Regina's limp body being carried through her front door by some guy.

"No, no, no, no… Please God, no. She can't be dead." – she quietly begged and started walking on shaky legs towards the house, determined to go inside and save Regina. Emma didn't give the guy much thought, he was either a friend or a foe, he would either help or she would kill him. She stopped again behind the fence of the front yard as she looked through the window.

Emma could see the guy carefully laying Regina's body down on the same sofa she sat and drank cider with her that first night when she brought Henry from Boston. He positioned himself behind her back and hugged her. '_He hugged her? Who the hell is this guy? _'The moment he wrapped his arms around her they both started glowing green. '_What is he doing to her? '_ As Emma took a step forward determined to get the jerk off Regina, she saw Regina open her eyes, look at him and smile weekly as she settled back into her position. '_She smiled at him? A real, genuine smile? Who the fuck is this guy?!'_

"It is too late." – she murmured to herself as she started walking back to her apartment.


	2. Chapter 1

**From now on new chapters will be posted on Mondays or Tuesdays, because me and my friends tend to overparty a little bit on the weekends and usually we can't function during the days.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters. This story is for entertainment purposes only and it is not part of the official story line.**

**Any mistakes you find are mine.**

******Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

Regina woke up with a splitting headache and very little memory of the night before. She opened her eyes to find herself in her bedroom, and felt that she was still in her clothes. Regina would never ever go to bed without changing first, so something really bad must have happened. The last thing she remembered was her argument with Miss Swan, and her leaving in the middle of it because she wasn't feeling well. The aftereffects of the spell must have been really bad if she couldn't remember how she got home. She really didn't want to get out of bed, but had to in order to get a shower and change.

As she tried slowly to sit up Regina felt a body steer next to her and jumped from her bed with fireballs in both of her hands ready to turn to ashes whoever the hell that was. The body turned and she saw his face. She dropped her hands and extinguished the fireballs. '_What is he doing here?_' He opened his eyes and looked sleepily at her.

"Hi." – he said with a smile as he stretched on the bed.

"Um… Hi." – Regina answered confused - "What are you doing here? What happened last night?" – she asked after a while and that was the moment her headache decided to kick in again. She brought her hands to her temples and groaned.

"Why don't we talk over some coffee? I'll wait for you downstairs."

"I'm going to take a shower and then we'll talk." – Regina said and started walking to the adjoining bathroom but stopped and turned in front of the door. She saw that he was almost just as messy as she was. His white shirt was wrinkled and untucked, the top two buttons were unbuttoned and his black tie was hanging loose around his neck. The blazer was missing, so she assumed that it was discarded somewhere in the house. His blonde shoulder length hair was messy from sleep and his pants were a disaster.

"Brad…" – she called after him – "…if you want to take a shower you can use the guest bathroom, it's in the room across the hall to the left." – she offered because she knew that he couldn't stand being messy just as much as her.

"Thanks" – he said gratefully.

Regina walked in the bathroom, closed the door and leaned on it exhaling heavily.

* * *

When Regina headed downstairs Brad was already waiting for her, seated on the kitchen island with two fresh cups of coffee steaming in front of him. He turned just as she entered the kitchen.

"Good morning." – he greeted her and stretched out his hand with a cup of coffee in it.

He looked much more presentable now. His hair was neatly brushed and put behind his ears. His clothes were still crumpled, but now his shirt was tucked in and the tie was back in place, still slightly loose but not as much as before, and the blazer was hanging on the back of the stool he was sitting on.

"Good morning." – she took the offered cup and sat leaving one stool between them.

They sat and drunk their coffee in silence for a while. It was not an uncomfortable silence; they were just sitting and enjoying their morning coffee. After some time though, Regina broke the silence with the same questions she asked before.

"Why are you here? What happened last night?" – Regina asked again and recalled what she remembered from the night before after storming off in the middle of the argument with the Sheriff. She remembered feeling sicker and sicker as she walked to her mansion, but she didn't remember meeting Brad, nor did she remember how she ended up home with him. '_I must have passed out and he carried me home. Oh my God, did he find me lying on a sidewalk like a beggar. Oh my god, please no.'_

"Well…" – he began – "… I came here looking for you last night, and after knocking a few times I figured that you weren't home and so I turned to leave. As I turned I saw you walking to the door. You were swaying and looked like death. I called your name but you didn't seem to be listening and I ran to you because you looked like you were about to collapse. You were lucky I got there on time or you would have fallen on your face." – he smiled and continued – "After that I carried you into what I gather is your home office, laid you down on the sofa and absorbed and destroyed whatever the thing that got you sick was. Then I found your bedroom and laid you down." – he finished.

"And you stayed because…?"

"Really, Regina?" – Brad asked looking like he couldn't believe that she actually asked that. - "I stayed in case you woke up and needed something, or in case some other spell or curse or whatever decided to kick in. You know that I would never leave you after seeing you like that." – Brad said sounding offended and Regina felt bad because she knew why he stayed, she knew that he would never leave her, but she wasn't accustomed to being taken care of and she thought that he was angry at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just… Thank you." – she said somewhat ashamed.

"It's ok, I know." – he said understanding and after a moment of silence he asked sounding concerned - "Will you tell me what that thing you got into yourself was? You really scared me you know."

"A Death Spell." – Regina quietly said.

"Um… Yeah… Ok… I don't know what that is but it doesn't sound good. What happened? Who did that to you? Are you in danger?"

Regina chuckled under her breath after remembering that Brad's knowledge of magic was pretty low. "No I'm not in danger, nobody did that to me. I did it to myself."

"You did that to yourself. Really?" – he asked not believing her explanation – "Regina does this have to do with the Savior? Were you trying to put her under some kind of a curse? Please be more careful next time."

"What? No, I wasn't trying to put the Savior under a curse! I'm not like that anymore, I'm trying to change." – she said that last part quietly.

"Really?" – Brad asked happily – "I'm glad."

"Thank you." – Regina said with a shy smile on her face.

Regina wanted to ask Brad why was he looking for her the night before, but she thought that he should initiate that topic. After a long silence he finally spoke.

"Am I the only one from the Old Land here?"

"Yes, you're the only one." – she answered.

"Why?" – he asked, but he didn't mean why he was the only one, he meant why did she bring him here and she knew that.

"Because I didn't know what would happen to the other worlds after I cast the curse. It wasn't my curse you know, I didn't create it, I just enacted it. That is why I summoned you to the Enchanted Forest just as I was casting it." – she answered him and continued before he could speak again – "Now will you tell me why were you really here last night or will I have to torture it out of you?" – she asked playfully.

"Hey I thought that you were trying to change!" – Brad laughed – "But I see you point, ok."

"I came here last night to see you and to talk to you. I wanted to ask you… Regina why didn't you come to me while we were under the curse? You could have come to talk you know. And really talk to me, the talks we had during business meetings do not count. " – he said sounding hurt.

"You weren't you. You had your curse memories and you wouldn't have known who I was. I mean you would have known the Mayor, but you wouldn't have known me." – Regina said hoping that he would understand.

"And after the curse?"

"I thought that you would be mad that I cursed you. I… I thought that you hated me because of that and that you wouldn't want to see me." – she said looking down at her hands where she have crossed them in her lap.

Brad then stood up suddenly and Regina was ready to face another disappointment in her life, she was ready to see another person leave her. Well she couldn't really blame him for being angry and leaving, after all, she did curse him. It didn't matter that her intentions were good, he was still forced to live almost thirty years without his memories, without knowing who he really was.

Instead of leaving, he sat down on the stool that was between them, put one of his hands over hers in her lap, brought the other one under her chin and lifted Regina's head so that she looked at him. - "I cloud never hate you Regina, do you understand that?" – Brad said looking deep into her eyes as if to make sure that she knew he truly meant that. After a while he repeated more firmly – "Do you understand that?"

"Yes" – she answered quietly, still in the same position as before, looking deep into his eyes.

"Good" – he said, stood up and started walking out of the kitchen. When he reached the door he stopped and turned to her to say – "I would like to see you again Regina."

"I would like that too." – Regina said with a small smile on her face.

"You know you say that you didn't come to see me because of the curse, and yet you still call me Brad." – he said teasingly.

"Well it suits you." – she replied after a laughing for a moment.

"Yeah it really does, doesn't it? I like it better than my real one anyways." – he said with a smile and walked out.

Regina remained sitting there looking at the door, just thinking how much she missed their talks, how much she missed him the past twenty-eight years. '_He is the only one that really knows me, the real me. He will be the only one that will ever understand why I had done all the things that I had. He will be the only one that will ever look at me without any judgment in his eyes. Gods, I'm so glad that he is back.'_

* * *

**Don't worry I won't leave you Emma deprived for too long, I will either post a new chapter sooner or I will post this one-shot that I'm working on.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here is chapter 2 as promised. Expect Chapter 3 on Monday or Tuesday. The mistakes are mine and mine alone :)**

**Disclaimer on Chapter 1.**

******Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2**

On her walk to the Mayor's house Emma was thinking about the events of the previous night, about finding out from Mr. Gold that Regina sucked in a death curse (or spell or whatever the hell it was). '_Why would he tell me that? Certainly to make me feel even guiltier if something happened to Regina. _'

Emma thought about the Mayor being on the brink of death because of it, about her being saved by some shady dude. She didn't want to think about what would have happened if he failed and Regina died. What would she have told Henry? '_Your mother died because of me?' _No, she couldn't think about that.

Her thoughts were a mess. She didn't know what she was feeling about all the crap that happened. Emma was thankful for saving them, but she was also angry at Regina for not telling her about the curse… um spell. And about the guy… Emma couldn't stop thinking about the damn guy. '_Who the fuck is that guy? Have I seen him before? How does Regina know him? How long has she known him? And why the hell Regina smiled at him like that? Am I jealous?' _No, why would she be jealous? She didn't even like the mayor. Because there was some guy at Regina's house? '_No!_' Because HE saved her and not Emma? '_Puff, certainly not!_' Because he was practically hugging Regina? '_No!_' Because Regina smiled at him? '_No!_' A sweet, genuine smile she only reserved for Henry? '_Shit __**I'm**__ jealous! SHIT, SHIT, SHIT! When did that happen?_'

Suddenly Emma found herself in front of the Queen's house. '_Wow time really flies when you are thinking._' She rang the bell determined to talk with Regina. As she waited her mind went back to discovery she made just moments ago. She started panicking. '_Should I tell her? Definitely not! How do I act? Will she notice? GREAT! You had to go there, didn't you brain? Mind your own business!'_ She was about to turn and leave, because she started panicking big time when the door opened.

* * *

After Brad left Regina found herself feeling a little better both physically and mentally. She used magic to heal her headache. She taught that Henry wouldn't be angry at her for using magic because when they talked about it in the imp's shop while she was preparing the potion for Charming, he said that it was ok to use magic if it wasn't being used for evil. Regina was about to start making breakfast for herself when she heard the doorbell. She started walking to the front door to open it. '_Did Brad forget something? I didn't see anything?_'

"Did you…" – she started asking thinking that it would be Brad on the other side of the door, but was greeted with the site of the Sheriff.

"Oh, Miss Swan. What are you doing here?" – Regina asked with narrowed eyes.

"Um… Hey… Gold told me that you sucked in some Death curse… or spell… yesterday night and I wanted to see if you were ok." – Miss Swan explained quickly with her hands in the pockets of her jeans while rocking on the heels of her boots.

Regina thought that the imp must be up to something, because there was no reason for him to tell the Sheriff about it. She would watch him closely the next couple of days.

"It was a spell and I absorbed it. I did not suck it in and you can see that I'm perfectly fine, so goodbye and enjoy your day Miss Swan." – she said and started to close the door.

"Regina wait…" – the Sheriff put her hand on the door to stop it from closing.

"I think that you misunderstood my comment about you seeing Henry last night. I…" – she continued but Regina cut her off.

"I understood perfectly fine Miss Swan. You don't think that my son should spent time with me, the mother who raised him for ten years. Ten years Miss Swan!" – Regina said irritated and started to close the door again, but there was that hand again.

"No Regina wait! Would you just let me finish! If you hadn't cut me off last night like you just did now, you would have understood that I don't think Henry shouldn't spend time with you. Just please let's talk." – she finished sounding exhausted.

Regina calculated her options for a while and decided that the best course of action was...

"I was about to make breakfast Miss Swan, would you like to join me?" – she asked with a tight smile and opened the door all the way while extending an arm as an invitation for the Sheriff to go inside.

"Um… Yeah, sure." – the Sheriff said and walked past her entering the mansion.

* * *

Emma walked behind Regina as they entered the kitchen and thought about the last time she was here. The day the curse was broken, the day **she** broke the curse. The day Henry had…

"I usually have apples for breakfast, but I thought I'd indulge myself with pancakes today. What do you say Miss Swan?" – Regina cut her trail of thought.

"Yeah, that would be great Regina, thanks." – Emma had a bowl of cereal at her apartment, but she would never say no to pancakes.

She sat on a stool at the kitchen island while Regina was preparing the pancake mix. It occurred to her that she didn't thank the woman for saving them from certain death.

"Thank you Regina."

"You already said that, dear." – Regina said as she continued preparing the pancake mix.

"No, I meant for suck…absorbing a Death Spell and saving us from certain death even if you didn't have to. You could have left the spell over the well and pretended that you hadn't known about it when we would've turned up dead, but you didn't. That shows how much you're changed Regina. I really mean that." – Emma said sincerely.

Regina didn't say anything in response; she just continued making the pancakes. When breakfast was ready she brought everything to the island and sat on the stool next to her. She moved one pancake to her plate, poured a little syrup over it and cut it to small pieces before tasting it. Emma grabbed a bunch of pancakes from the plate between them, drowned them in syrup and she brought a whole pancake to her mouth with the fork (not wasting time to cut them because they looked too tasty), and took a huge bite.

"Mmmm… These are really good Regina." – she said with mouth full.

"Please do not talk with your mouth full Miss Swan. You'll chock to death, and you'll not die after I risked my life for you." – Regina chastised her.

"For me?" – Emma asked teasingly, still with that huge bite of the pancake in her mouth. Regina just huffed and gave her a - don't make me laugh – look.

"Look, about you seeing Henry, you really got the wrong idea yesterday." – Emma said after swallowing the bite.

"Well please enlighten me, dear."

"I will if you don't keep interrupting me. God woman, could you just eat your neatly cut pancake and listen to me?" – she snapped.

When Regina stayed quiet she continued. – "Good. Like I said before, I know that you're changed, and it's not because of you I said those things last night. What I was trying to say when you interrupted me, was that I don't think it's a good idea for Henry to stay over because I think that the kid is not ready for that yet, but that I would talk to him about seeing you. Maybe you can start with some lunch at Granny's and then see how things go from there?" – she wanted to invite herself too, but that would've seemed like she was offering supervised visits and Emma knew that that wouldn't sit well with Regina. Plus there was the problem with her newfound feelings for the said woman. She realized that she truly cared about Regina and she didn't know what to do with the fact.

Emma was lost in her thoughts when she felt her hand being covered by one of Regina's. The act surprised her, and what surprised her even more was the look Regina had. There were so many feelings there, but before she could interpret them the hand was retreated and the mask was put back on. If she looked hard enough though, she could see some feelings trying to escape the prison of the mask.

* * *

Regina pulled her hand back and tried to put her mask back on, but she knew that it wasn't entirely effective this time. Her thoughts and her feelings were a total mess. From the moment she woke up it was like she was bombarded with feelings, first Brad and now the Sheriff. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this much overwhelmed. She didn't know how to deal with them so she did the only way she knew how.

"Well, all I had to do was absorb and survive a Death Spell to be allowed to see my son." – Regina said, but it didn't come out as harsh as she intended, it didn't come out harsh at all, it even sounded playful.

After her comment, they continued to eat in not quite an uncomfortable silence and Regina was grateful for the time to gather her thoughts and emotions. She didn't remember a time when she had been so out of control with her feelings '_I must still be feeling the aftereffects of the Death Spell.' _– she thought. And then it came to her.

"Does Henry know about the Death Spell?" – Regina broke the silence.

"No, I haven't told him yet."

"Don't tell him, at least not yet. I will tell him, but after we've seen each other a few times. " – she said. As much as it would gain her hero points in her son's eyes, she didn't want that to be the reason Henry wanted to see her. She didn't want to be a hero; she wanted to be his mother.

"Now Miss Swan if you're done, will you excuse me I have things to do." – Regina said after seeing that the Sheriff had nothing left in her plate and wasn't about to take more pancakes. She really didn't have anything to do but prepare herself a nice bath and relax, but they had nothing left to discuss. She stood up, gathered the dishes and put them into the dishwashing machine. After that she put the leftovers in the fridge.

Miss Swan stood up and started walking out of the kitchen and Regina followed her. She opened the front door so the Sheriff could walk out and stepped out after her. Miss Swan turned and looked at her saying – "Thanks for the pancakes Regina, they were really great. I will talk to Henry and call you when he wants to meet. So… Bye."

"Goodbye Miss Swan. Have a good day."

* * *

Emma turned and started heading towards her bug, but as reached the first step she was stopped by Regina's voice.

"Miss Swan… Emma…"

'_Did she just call me Emma? No way, I must be wron_g.' Emma turned back to Regina, and as if the woman read her mind she said again.

"Thank you, Emma. I… I… I don't know what else to say. Just thank you." – Regina didn't clarify for what she was thanking her, but Emma understood perfectly. She was thanking Emma for believing in her.

"No problem." – she said and then the guy flashed again in her mind suddenly. '_Really Brain? What the fuck? You had to go there, didn't you? Well, FUCK YOU!' _She had to ask now.

"Regina can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask dear, but that doesn't mean that I will give you an answer." – Regina said with a smirk.

"After Gold told me about the Death Spell I came over here and through the window of your home office I saw that there was a guy with you. You were both glowing green. Who is he Regina?" – Emma asked somewhat accusatory.

"A friend." – Regina simply answered before turning and disappearing in her house.

'_A friend?_' Emma taught that the Mayor didn't have any friends, not before and certainly not after the curse was broken. '_Who the hell is that guy?_' She'll have to find out.


	4. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry this is so late, but I had the craziest two weeks. In span of 4 days my car, my laptop and my PC broke down. I got my car fixed the next day (thank God), but there was no salvation for my laptop :( . I took my PC to be looked at the same day it broke down and it took the service-people a whole week to tell me that the motherboard have died. I immediately bought a new one, but I was behind on a lot of projects and I had to help my parents with the preparation for a family celebration, so that is why this is so late.**

**Let's get to the reason why you're here. All mistakes are mine.**

****** Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3**

It was late at night and Regina found herself thinking about the past two weeks, while sitting in her home office and sipping a glass of whiskey. She had seen Brad a couple times over lunch or dinner. She insisted that they meet at her house, because she liked to cook in her kitchen, but also because she didn't want their talks to be disturbed by insults from some citizens. Most of them would just glare or ignore her, but there were still some idiots who were stupid enough to insult her. '_They're lucky I've changed!_'

She actually had fun when she was with him. Her talks with him were quite pleasant. They talked about everything. About the many differences between this world and their worlds, about indoor plumbing and electricity, they joked about cars (yes, yes, she joked) and the transportation differences between the worlds. They discussed food, music, TV, movies, but they steered clear of heavy topics like Henry, the curse, or the events that made her cast it. After their first meal together Brad said that that was the best meal he had ever had, so she offered to teach him how to cook. He happily accepted the offered cooking lessons.

Since the day of the Welcome Home Party Regina hasn't seen nor heard from Henry. She missed him more and more every day, but Emma had said that she would talk to him about seeing her and that she would call when Henry would express a wish to see her. Regina didn't know how or why, but after their talk during breakfast the other day she found out that she trusted the Sheriff would talk to her son, that she trusted her in general.

She promised herself that she wouldn't push Henry, that she wouldn't become like her mother, that she would earn his love and not force him to stay and obey her like Cora did to her. Regina shivered as she recalled how her mother had toyed with her. The ways she would use her magic on Regina to punish her when she wouldn't do something right, or when she would act unladylike, or when the woman just felt like it, but that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part were the mind games Cora played and the speeches she would give Regina saying how she couldn't do anything right. The damn woman was long gone, but still managed to make her feel like nothing.

She was distracted from pouring herself another glass of whiskey, but also from her thoughts when she felt the presence of magic behind her. Regina turned ready to be greeted by the infuriating smile of Rumpelstiltskin (because no one else would just poof in her house), but was greeted with the site of Emma's back. The blonde was swearing and waving her hands and looked quite irritated.

* * *

"Shit! Fuck! Fucking, stupid magic! Where the fuck have I ended up now!"

"In my house Miss Swan." – Emma heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Shit, sorry Regina." – she said with a blush while turning to Regina.

"Mind you language Miss Swan." – she chastised her and continued – "I take it from your reaction that this little trip of yours was not intentional. "

"Yes, this tends to happen now and I thought that we were past the Miss Swan thing."

"Now? Have you been practicing magic Miss… Emma?" – Regina corrected herself in the last moment.

"Well Mr. Gold and Belle had a fight, because she caught him using magic. After the fight she ran away and somehow ended up lost the woods and accidentally crossed the border and lost her memories. I owed Mr. Gold a debt and he called it in saying that maybe my magic can help bring Belle's memories back." – Emma explained.

"What? Is Gold teaching you Emma? You can't trust him with your magic, he will poison your mind and twist and turn you magic like it suits him. Your magic is so pure, please don't let him darken it, Emma. Don't let him use you." – Regina sounded pleading and afraid. Emma was dumbstruck. Was Regina afraid for her?

"No, no, no, Regina. I would never let Gold teach me magic, that guy seriously creeps me out." – she reassured her.

"Good. Now would you like to tell me the rest of the story over some drinks?" – she asked sounding relieved.

"Yes, give me something strong."

"Is whiskey alright, dear?"

"Yes, perfect." – Emma said and sat down on the couch where she had sat the first time they had drinks together.

Regina handed her a glass of Jack, sat in the chair opposite of her and asked – "So you have been practicing magic by yourself then?"

"At first I tried to, but after a few unsuccessful attempts that included blowing up a toaster instead of lighting a candle and making a hole in the wall with the coffee table instead of moving the paperweight that was on the table, David and Mary Margaret thought that I could use some help." – she started the story, but was interrupted when Regina burst out laughing hard and Emma was dumbstruck for the second time that evening. The laughter was so contagious that Emma found herself laughing along with Regina who was now leaning back in her chair with her head thrown back and both of her hands settled on her stomach. It was a wonderful site.

"You know that it's rude to laugh at other people's misfortune." – Emma said playfully after a few minutes of laughing. "Wait till I tell about the time I almost set MM's hair on fire" – she added just as Regina was sipping her drink.

"What? You really did that? That must have been a site, I wish that I was there to see it?" – Regina said after almost choking on her drink.

"No, I'm just messing with you. After the incidents they made sure I train outside of the apartment in the woods where I can't accidently hurt anyone, but if something like that ever happens the first thing I'll do is take a picture from the makeover and send it to you."

"If something like that happens and you don't, I will destroy you Emma Swan" – the former Mayor said in her best Evil Queen voice, but ended the sentence with a smile – "so make sure you do."

"So, who's been teaching you magic?" – she asked getting back on topic.

"Um... Blue." – Emma answered looking sheepishly.

Regina huffed - "No wonder you can't control it. She needs fairy dust to use magic, it doesn't run inside of her, she has no idea how it feels, so she can't help you control it. She has just been teaching you spells and no self-control."

"David and Mary Margaret thought that she was the best idea."

"Well they are even bigger idiots that I thought. So that settles it than…" - Regina looked at Emma with a determination – "I will be expecting you here tomorrow at noon for your first **real** magic lesson. Don't be late."

Emma was so taken aback by Regina's request… no order, that she found herself unable to say anything and just kept opening and closing her mouth like a freaking fish. '_Can you look any stupider Swan? SAY SOMETHING FOR CHRIST SAKE!'_

"How long has she been teaching you?" – Regina continued seriously, not seaming to notice Emma acting like she was the shark form Jaws, but a parody version of the movie that is.

"Um… Um… A week." – she finally managed to open her mouth and get some words out.

"Ok, so she couldn't have done much damage." – Regina commented.

"Now let's address the other issue. Do you know why the imp was using magic? He does nothing without a reason and if it led to a big argument like that he wasn't doing something small. Belle wouldn't have caused that big a scene for nothing. "

"After he came to me about fulfilling my part of the deal I asked him what he was using the magic for and he said that because he was trying to get his son back, but I had a feeling that he was hiding something. Before I could ask him about it he turned and left and I haven't seen him since." – Emma explained.

"I believe that he indeed was working on getting his son back, after all me casting the curse was all part of his plan to get here and find his son. What worry me are the things he'll do in order to get him. Now though he's probably preoccupied with finding ways to get Belle's memories back and that gives us time to work on your magic, because we may need it if the imp plans something bad, and he probably is." – Regina concluded.

"How was your casting of the curse part of his plan?"

"Well you see dear, I just cast the curse, I did not create it, the curse was his creation." – Regina simply said and Emma had the feeling that she won't be getting anything more on the matter from her.

"Ok." – Emma said and after a moment of thinking she added – "Can I ask you something Regina?"

"You remember what I said when you asked me that same question last time we saw each other Emma?"

"Yes"

"Then you have your answer. Remember this when you are thinking of asking me anything in the future. You can ask me anything you like, but that doesn't mean that you'll get an answer." – Regina said seriously.

"Why are you helping me with my magic Regina? And don't say it's because of Gold, because you said that you would help me before we were talking about him?

* * *

Regina didn't really know why she had said that she would help Emma with her magic, or why she had invited her for a drink and didn't kick her out the moment she poofed in her house, but after thinking for a while she answered – "For Henry's safety, why else? I wouldn't want you accidentally blowing your apartment up while he is in it, now would I dear?"

"You don't think I could do that, do you?" – Emma asked sounding afraid.

"Not now, no, but if that blue moth had continued teaching you, you certainly would have. By the way, how is Henry?" – she asked nonchalantly while standing up as to refill their drinks, so the Sheriff wouldn't be able to see her face when she would tell her how her son was happy without her.

"He is fine. He is doing good at school…" – Emma started.

"Good? What do you mean good? Is he having difficulties with some subject?" – Regina stopped pouring drinks and turned asking, because Henry had always been doing nothing but great at school.

"Wow, wow, wow, slow down Regina. Slow down. Let me start over. Henry is fine. He's been doing **great** at school. He is a smart kid Regina, you've taught him well." – she said that last part sounding proud both of her and Henry.

"And yes…" – the Sheriff continued as she handed her the refilled glass – "… I have talked to him about meeting you. Well haven't exactly talk to him about meeting you, more like talked about his feelings about you. I thought that it would be better for him to say that he wants to see you on his own without me pushing him by asking what he thought about the idea. And I think that he will be asking very soon." – Emma said with a smile.

Regina must admit to herself that Emma was dealing with the situation quite well. She wouldn't want her son to see her just because he thought that Emma said or asked him to, she wanted her son to express the wish because he really would like to see her.

"Thank you Emma. Really, thank you. I must ask though, how is he dealing with the idea of you using magic?" – she was curious, because she knew her son's point of view about magic.

"He says that if it's used for good than he is ok with it, but that he doesn't like it. He thinks that magic corrupts everything." – Emma said and confirmed her suspicions.

"Well, I think that you should be getting home, because I'll need you focused tomorrow." – Regina stood up suggesting that their little talking session was over and saw that Emma followed but not before drowning her drink on one go. She saw that Emma wasn't looking forward to going home and she started wondering what had happened in the Charming's household and why Emma's magic brought her to her house. '_I will ask her tomorrow.'_

She walked the Sheriff to her front door and opened it saying – "Good night Emma."

"Good night Regina, I really enjoyed our time together tonight." – she said with a grin and turned to leave, not giving her time to answer.

"As did I, as did I." – Regina said to herself as she watched Emma leave.

* * *

Emma had a big goofy smile plastered on her face all the time on her walk to her apartment that by the time she got there her jaw, her cheeks, her lips, hell every part of her face hurt, but that didn't stop her from smiling even as she got in bed.

* * *

**Next chapter – Emma's first REAL magic lesson :) It's already written, so expect it on Monday or Tuesday. **


	5. Chapter 4 - part 1

**This chapter – "Magic 101 – with Regina Mills". I'm really excited about this chapter; I had a really fun time writing it. All mistakes are mine.**

******Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4 – part 1**

Regina heard her doorbell ring at exactly twelve o'clock. She opened the door after checking how she looked and found the blond grinning. She actually didn't think that the blonde would arrive on time.

"I must say that I'm quite surprised by you punctuality, Miss Swan." – she said playfully.

"Well, I'm full of surprises professor." – Emma shoot back teasingly.

"Come in, dear." – Regina said chuckling.

Emma walked in and she led her to the backyard patio. It was a beautiful, sunny day so she thought that it would be nice to sit outside. She sat on one of the chairs and motioned for Emma to sit as well.

"So, first order of business. What has the blue moth told you about magic?" – Regina said while pouring them both some apple juice.

"Well not much really." – Emma begun – "She said that magic was about emotion and that in order to do a spell, like for example to create a fireball I'm supposed to picture it in my hands and will the magic to come to me."

"Oh my God, she really is as ignorant as I thought her to be." – Regina brought her hand to her forehead and shook her head – "What else has she thought you?" – she asked looking up to the Sheriff.

"Well I've only seen her a handful of times and all we've done is practicing stuff like summoning fireballs, protection shields and teleporting. I've been doing great with the protection shields, but when I try the other stuff I go haywire." – she said shrugging.

"If what you're telling me is true, and I believe it is, than you're lucky you haven't blown yourself up by now." – Regina stated and continued - "So the first thing you need to know is that there are different types of magic wielders. There're those who only possess a certain… let's call it a talent and can only use that certain talent. Like Red. " – she started explaining.

"Wait, Ruby is a magic person? I thought that the werewolf thing was a curse?" – Emma asks sounding shocked.

"A magic **wielder** and no it is not a curse it's a talent." – she answered and then continued her explanation – "Now there are creatures like the moths, who have magical abilities, but need a certain aid in order to access them. And finally there are those with full magical ability. This is the category that we belong in."

"Ok, what does full magical ability mean?" – the Sheriff asked seeming really interested.

"It means that we have the ability to upgrade our skills, to learn new spells, to access it without any aid in any time we want, but there are also different types of wielders with full magical ability. There are those who are just hosting it like Rumpelstiltskin. He is just hosting the magic of The Dark One's dagger. And there are those who are born with it, like us." – she finished.

Regina saw that Emma was paying close attention to what she was saying, so she continued the story. - "Now let's talk about the two major types of magic. Dark and light, well those are the names that are used now. A long time ago, many hundreds of years before my lifetime the types were called offensive and defensive magic, because the magic wielders were either trained to know destruction spells or protection and restoration spells. Offensive magic was used for destruction and defensive magic was used for protection. An effective army had to have magic wielders of both types."

"Wow, there were armies of magic wielders." – Emma sounded amazed.

"Yes dear, but that is a story for another time." – Regina said and remembered the times she would tell stories to Henry and how he would have the same reactions that Emma had. -"Now however the magic is defined by the skills you prevail in, because magic wielders now use both offensive and defensive spells." – Regina continued – "So fundamentally no magic is light or dark, you just develop it into one of the types. For example I have used my magic for fireballs and fire, lightning bolts, body and mind control, restraining spells and ripping out hearths…"

"Ok, ok I get it… destruction magic." – she cut her off.

"But I have also used healing, protection and restoration spells, which fall into what category Sheriff?" – she asked Emma smiling.

"Protection magic, madam." – she answered also smiling. "So your magic is dark because you've practiced more spells that fall into the destruction category, is that right?"

"Offensive or dark category and destruction spells dear, but yes, you are correct."

"So my magic is neutral now, right?"

"Wrong."

"But… But… But you just said… What did I get wrong?" – Emma said sounding like a child.

"Nothing dear, but with you being the product of true love and all, your magic is already let's say… preset into the defensive category."

"So what? I get to do the lame protection spells and you get to do all the cool stuff, like throw fireballs and lightning bolts?" – Emma whined.

"Well I'm "cool" like, what can I say?" – Regina said while laughing (she found herself genuinely laughing in the Sheriff's company these last couple of times they saw each other) and then continued – "You'll be able to learn spells like summoning fireballs, but protection spells will be easier for you to learn, so you'll be able to throw fireballs around but it will require a little more effort than casting a protection shield will and destruction spells may drain you a bit more than protection spells. You see now why you've been doing well with casting protection shields, and why you've been having difficulty with the fireballs."

"And what about the teleportation stuff? That doesn't seem like destruction spell to me, but I can't seem to control when and where I poof in." – the Sheriff asked looking desperate.

Regina was about to answer but was interrupted by Emma's stomach growling, so she said instead – "Why don't we discuss that over lunch? That is unless you have to go back to the sheriff station already?"

"David has been taking over for me in the afternoons since I started practicing with The Blue Fairy, so I have time."

"I gather that you didn't tell your parents that you are going to be learning magic with me from now on, because I imagine that not only David wouldn't have taken over for you in the sheriff's station, but there would also be an angry mob standing outside my house, led by Snow and Charming, threatening to kill me unless I undo the spell that made the Savior seek lessons about magic from the Evil Queen." – she stated.

"No, I didn't tell them. I was having such a good morning and I knew that if I had told them, we would have had a fight and my day would have been ruined. I promise that I will tell them tonight though, or tomorrow, but whenever I tell them I'll make sure that they know that I'm not under any spell and that it was my choice to come to you about my magic."- Emma said seriously.

Regina just nodded and then made a Cesar Salad appear in front of her and a burger and fries in front of Emma. She also refilled the bottle with apple juice. When Emma didn't say anything for a while and just stared at the table in front of her, she started saying – "I hope you don't mind, but since I don't have time to cook something for lunch I just…"

"Oh my god! This is the best thing ever! You have to teach me how to do that!" – Emma practically yelled.

"Alright Emma, calm down. I will once we'll get you magic under control." – she said smiling to Emma and once again found herself comparing her with Henry. They were the only people she had seen getting that excited about food.

"Now about the transportation spell…" – she continued with the lesson as they started eating – "…There are spells that are considered neither dark nor light. One of those spells is the transportation spell and another example is the spell that got us this food. You said earlier that the fairy told you that magic was all about emotion."

"Mhm…" – Emma only murmured and continued eating.

"Well she was at least right about that. Magic **is** linked tightly with emotion, but her explanation of how to access your magic however, was totally wrong. As I explained earlier, she is a different type of magic wielder than us, so the way she accesses her magic is different than ours, via fairy or pixie dust that is. The dust activates her magic, so in order to do a spell she needs only to will it to happen, that is why fairies are so limited, the dust can only let you access a certain amount of magic. Our magic on the other hand is always active within us, just as our emotions are so if we don't learn to control it, it may end up controlling us." – she finished her explanation just as she finished her salad.

"So that's what is happening to me? My magic is starting to control me?" – Emma asked sounding afraid.

"Yes, but there is no need to worry, we will get it under control." – Regina reassured her and asked – "So tell me, what were you thinking about when you ended up at my house yesterday night?"

"Well… I was arguing with Mary Margaret and David about you actually."

* * *

"I said that you might be seeing Henry very soon…" – Emma started explaining as she thought about the argument – "…and they said that you could only see him if someone was there to supervise you," – as she continued her story she saw the brunette's facial expressions change, so she quickly continued before the situation could get worse – "but I said no. I was already having a shitty day, so when they started their usual talk about you being the Evil Queen and that I don't know you like they do, I lost it. I told them, more like screamed, that even if I don't know you like they do, I know that you would never hurt Henry and that you won't hurt anyone unless provoked, and the next thing I knew I was in your house." – she finished getting irritated just thinking about the fight.

How they could not see that Regina has changed, she thought. Maybe she didn't know the Evil Queen, but she knew Mayor Mills and she was a bitch. This woman here, sitting with her, teaching her magic wasn't anywhere near the bitch that the Mayor was. Regina was still the same sexy, sassy, powerful woman and still had that closed up, dominating, no bullshit personality, but she wasn't a bitch, she was not a bitch at all.

"Well I thought that it must be related to me, you suddenly appearing in my house that is, but I never would've guessed that you were defending me to your parents. You surprise me yet again Miss Swan." – Regina said sincerely.

"I told you I'm full of surprises, didn't I?" – Emma said grinning. – "So why exactly did I end up here?"

"As I said, magic is controlled by our emotions, you were angry with your parents and you were defending me, so your magic acted and brought you to the person you were thinking about defending - me." – she explained to her.

"Oh, so that's why I poofed in in the middle of Granny's one night when I was thinking about bear claws." – she said as it suddenly made sense.

"As much as I would like to hear more of your mishaps,"- Regina said smiling – "we'll have to leave the stories for some other time. It's pretty late, I'm sure that you parents will start wondering where you are and it wouldn't do anyone any good if they found you here, considering they do not know about your change of tutors."

Emma pulled out her phone from her jeans pocket and when she saw the time she felt her jaw open – "Four thirty? Wow, where did four and a half hours go?" – she asked disbelieving and continued – "I must say that I already prefer my lessons with you even if we haven't done any magical things yet."

They both got up and started walking to the front door. – "Can I come tomorrow around five thirty for our lesson? I promised Henry that I would take him to the playground after lunch." – Emma said as walked.

"Of course, Emma. We will start working on your control tomorrow, so don't be late." – Regina said and opened the door.

Just as Emma was about to say that she really enjoyed spending time with her, her phone rang. She checked the caller ID to see Mary Margaret's name. – "Hey Mary Margaret, what's up?" – she said and Regina looked at her with her I-told-you look. Emma just rolled her eyes and mouthed bye to her. Regina silently said bye as well and she turned to enter her house.

* * *

**Chapter 4 – part 2 is halfway written and I will try to finish and post it before the weekend.**


	6. Chapter 4 - part 2

**I know that this is very very late and I'm sorry, but I had a lot of things to do and didn't have time to finish this chapter.**

**I just want to thank everyone who followed/favorited the story and especially those who took a minute of their time to review and point out my mistakes, but also for their words of encouragement.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or any of its characters and any other materials mentioned.**

**All mistakes are mine.**

**Enjoy! **

**Chapter 4 – part 2**

Regina closed the door after Emma left and checked the time to see that it was almost five. She realized that she really liked the development in hers and Emma's relationship and wondered what would have happened, if they hadn't started off on the wrong foot.

She went to her backyard patio, gathered the dishes and brought them to the kitchen to put them in the dishwasher. She checked the time again. Five fifteen. '_Brad will be here in about an hour.'_ Regina thought she had time for a shower before he arrived, so she went up to her bathroom.

* * *

Emma spent her drive to her apartment building thinking about Regina. She thought about how much she liked talking to her and that she really missed her the last two weeks. She thought about the growing feelings she was having for the woman, about what should she do about them and concluded that it was probably too early to say anything that would hurt their growing relationship. Emma decided that she would test the waters first.

She parked her bug in front of the apartment building and was locking it, when Mr. Gold suddenly appeared next to her out of nowhere (well he probably really did appear out of nowhere).

"I hear that you've changed your tutor, Miss Swan." – he started – "So is Regina being a good teacher, dearie?" – he asked.

"She is, and how do you know that Regina is teaching me now? We've just had our first lesson today, are you stalking me Mr. Gold?" – she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Well of course she is a good teacher, she learned from the best after all. And I'm not stalking you Miss Swan I'm merely tracking your progress, after all Belle getting back her memories may depend on your magical abilities." – Gold said with that impish smile of his. '_No wonder Regina called him the imp. Wait what did he just say?'_

"You were Regina's teacher?" – Emma asked perplexed.

"Why of course dearie, haven't you read that book your son has?"

"Yes I have, but the book doesn't say anything about how Regina became the Evil Queen. It starts with her killing the king and …" – she started saying but Gold cut her off.

"So you don't believe that she was born evil?" – he asked.

"Nobody is born evil, and I'm not talking about her with you anymore, you are as good a source as that freaking book is." – she said as she realized how little she knew about Regina's life before she became the Evil Queen. Emma wanted to know more about her, but only if the said woman was willing to open up to her, not from third party sources.

"Ok dearie, let me just say that I'm glad that you came to your senses and begun training with the Queen. The nun would've done more harm than good." – he said and turned to leave.

"Then why didn't you say anything before, since you've been tracking my progress?" – she yelled after him.

"I can't interfere in everything dearie." – Gold answered not turning back to look at her.

She had a feeling that something bad was going to happen and she made a mental note to talk to Regina about it.

* * *

Regina was coming down the stairs when she heard the doorbell ring. She stopped on her way to the door to check her hair and makeup on the mirror, and after she smoothed the imaginary wrinkles on her black skirt and red silky shirt she opened the door with a smile.

Brad was looking as flawless as he always looked. He was wearing a navy blue striped suit and white shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned. He said hi and kissed her on the cheek as he entered.

"I brought wine." – he handed her two bottles while taking off his coat – "I brought both red and white because I didn't know what we were going to make tonight and I also brought a few movies." – he finished taking out a couple DVDs.

"I thought that we could watch one after dinner if you want?" – Brad asked as they walked in the kitchen.

"What did you bring?" – she asked as he took off his blazer, put it on the stool he usually did and rolled up his shirt sleeves.

"I know you said that you've watched it with Henry, but I brought it anyway. You can't go wrong with Jim Carry." – he put a copy of "Liar, Liar" on the kitchen island. – "I brought one classic." – he set the DVD of "Casablanca" next to the one of "Liar, Liar" – "And finally "Inception", because you said that you haven't seen it, but that you liked the complexity of "Memento". So what do you think?" – he leaned on the island raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I have seen both "Liar, Liar" and "Casablanca"…"- Regina crossed her arms and brought her index finger to her lips in thought - "… and I liked Christopher Nolan's "Memento" and his Batman movies when I watched them with Henry, so I don't doubt that "Inception" is good, but I would like to watch something easy tonight, so "Liar, Liar" it is then." – she finished – "Now let's get dinner started, shall we?" – she said and handed him his apron.

"Ok, so what are we making?" – Brad asked while putting his apron on.

"How about I teach you my famous lasagna recipe?"

"Let's get started then." – he said enthusiastically.

* * *

They made the lasagna quickly, falling into their usual routine where she would give instructions and he would listen carefully and follow them. Brad was a fast learner, she was surprised to see how good he was becoming, but then again she couldn't recall one thing that he wasn't good at. Well maybe one thing… He wasn't good with feelings - just as she wasn't, but he hadn't always been like that – just as she hadn't.

They set the table and started eating. Regina continued her trail of thought. She thought about the time that she **had** been good with feelings, then about the events that made her close up and eventually become the cold, emotionally detached and unavailable Evil Queen. She started sinking deeper and deeper into waters that she shouldn't even step into let alone dive into. Brad must have noticed because he tried to break the uncomfortable silence that had befallen them.

"This is really good." – he complemented.

"You made it." – Regina said dismissingly, not even looking at him.

"Regina, are you ok? What's going on?" – he put down his fork and asked her looking concerned.

She snapped out of it and opened her mouth to say that it was nothing, but stopped herself just before she said anything. She knew that she could talk to him about anything, but they haven't talked about stuff like this for almost thirty years and she didn't want to jeopardize the thing they had going on now by bringing it up, because it certainly was a lot different than what they've had before the curse.

"It's nothing, everything is fine. The lasagna is really good." – Regina said at last.

"Yes Regina, I said that, but it seems you didn't hear me. Tell me what's going on, talk to me."

Regina let out a long deep breath and asked him – "Do you think that I'm changed?"

"What? Yes, of course you're changed! You laugh, you joke, you care, you love, the person you were before did not. I don't think that I'd heard you joke and **really** laugh in all the years I'd known you before, and the person you were before wasn't able to love and care like you do now. You love your son so much and care for him so deeply that you are letting him stay with the Charming's for Christ's sake, so don't you ever think again that you are her, because you're not and you will never be her again!"

Brad said that with so much conviction that she actually let herself believe it. – "Thank you." – she said sincerely – "You know that the same thing can be said for you as well. You are also changed, you are not him anymore."

"I've got you to thank for that." – he simply said smiling and started eating again.

* * *

They finished dinner, cleaned up the table, put the dishes in the dishwashing machine and moved to the home theatre. The home theatre was a large room with two couches, an enormous screen and a 7.1 surround system.

"Wow, you really do live in style." – Brad commented as he looked around the room.

"Henry and I could sometimes spend an entire day watching movies and I wanted us to be confortable and watch in quality." – Regina said and smiled at the memories their movie marathons. – "Shall we?"

Brad nodded and sat down on one of the couches. Regina put the "Liar, Liar" DVD in the player.

"Would you like something to drink?" – she asked him.

"What do you have?"

"Wine, cider, whisky… What would you like?"

"I'll have what you'll have."

"Cider it is then." – Regina said and went to get a bottle of her famous apple cider and two glasses.

She got back, put the bottle and the glasses on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat down next to Brad (close to him, but not close). She handed him the glass and pressed play on the remote.

* * *

They finished the movie laughing all the way through it. As the movie credits rolled Regina commented with a smile – "I do not think that I'll ever get tired of watching this movie."

Brad didn't say anything back, he just looked at her fondly.

"You are beautiful when you smile." – he suddenly said after a minute of silence – "Don't get me wrong you're always beautiful, but when you smile you give an entirely different definition to the word beautiful. And I don't think that I've ever seen you so relaxed. I really like this version of you Regina." – he finished with a smile.

"Thank you." – she didn't know what else to say to that.

"Ok, I should get going." – Brad said and stood up to put his blazer back on.

"Or you could stay." – Regina suddenly blurted out. She didn't know why she said that, but then again she didn't know why she was saying a lot of things these days. That was a sign of weakness, but she really couldn't make herself care. – "We could watch "Inception" if you feel like it." – she elaborated.

"I would like that." – he said and sat back down on the couch.

Regina stood up, switched the DVD's and pressed play on the remote. She sat back down and they started watching the movie. Halfway through the movie however, she felt her eyelids getting heavy with sleep. She tried to stay awake for Brad's sake, but when she looked over to him she saw that he was already sleeping, so she let herself go, put her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

* * *

**Ok, so this will be the last update this year. You can expect the next chapter during the first or second week of January. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everybody :) **


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